Archive for the 'Nba Draft' Tag Under 'Lakers' Category

Washington won the draft lottery Tuesday night and is expected to take Kentucky's John Wall.

According to this mock draft by NBADraft.net, there will be three Kentucky players in the top eight picks.. So why wasn't Kentucky in the Final Four?

The Clippers are projected to take one of those Wildcats, forward Patrick Patterson.

I don't want to sound delusional, but if the Clippers don't screw up this pick and if they sign a credible free agent, they'll have two quality players to join Baron Davis, Chris Kaman, Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin (if he can play).

Chinemelu Elonu knew he wasn't going to make the Lakers. With a roster stocked with talent, the most he could hope for was to share the court with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Co. was in training camp.

So the Lakers' second-round draft pick out of Texas A&M did the next best thing. He signed a two-year deal to play for the Spanish club team Zaragoza, but included an opt-out clause that will allow him to leave Europe and sign with the Lakers after the 2009-10 season.

So not all hope of playing for the Lakers is lost.

While playing for the Lakers Summer League team, Elonu said he was "overwhelmed" when the Lakers drafted him.

So the Lakers dumped two players, kept one draft pick and received a big pile of money for their participation in this year's NBA Draft.

The Lakers are hoping to re-sign free agents Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown, but also face a stiff hit in luxury tax on their $74 million payroll. The cash they will receive from the trades they made with the Knicks for their No. 29 pick (Toney Douglas) and Miami for their No. 46 pick (Patrick Beverley), will go a long way in negotiations.

The Lakers did keep Chiemelu Eloni, a 6-foot-10 center from Texas A&M, whom they drafted with their 59th pick. Mitch Kupchak called Eloni a "great kid" and expects him to be a member of the Lakers Summer League entry and be in camp this fall.

Cleveland already had LeBron James, and the Cavaliers got Shaq in a trade Wednesday. Then the Cavs got Christian Eyenga in the draft Thursday.

Eyenga, from Congo, isn't exactly a household name, not even in NBA circles as evidenced by David Stern's less-than-enthusiastic reading of his name. But the 6-foot-5 swingman is considered a raw talent who possesses enough ability that, given time, could develop quickly.

Eyenga is the second player in the NBA, the first being the Lakers' DJ Mbenga.

The Lakers owned the No. 29 pick, but sold it to the Knicks earlier in the day for cash and a 2011 draft pick. Still, they got to select the player who will head to New York and the Lakers chose Toney Douglas of Florida State.

Douglas, a guard, averaged 21.5 points a game last season for the Seminoles. The Knicks needed another guard after trading away Quentin Richardson to Memphis for Darko Milicic.